Outgoing Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Monday bid farewell to her colleagues in Washington after last week resigning to become Vice President William Lai’s (賴清德) running mate in January’s presidential election.
Hsiao wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it has been “an honor to represent Taiwan in the US.”
“As I embark on another challenging path, I am truly grateful to all who have worked with me to strengthen the Taiwan US partnership over the last three years,” she wrote.
Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times
She said she was “blessed to have an incredibly diligent and dedicated team” at Taiwan’s representative office in the US.
“Taiwanese diplomats can never take support for granted. We know we must earn it and work for it,” she said, adding that she would miss “the cherry blossoms and colorful foliage of DC” as well as “the warmth of bipartisan friends who have committed to stand with Taiwan.”
After participating in presidential campaign activities in Taiwan for much of last week, Hsiao flew back to the US and arrived in Washington on Sunday to take care of handover procedures.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US posted a photograph on Facebook of Hsiao with her colleagues in Washington, and said she turned over her responsibilities to deputy representatives to the US Robin Cheng (鄭榮俊) and Johnson Chiang (姜森).
Hsiao was yesterday to return to Taiwan via New York.
Hsiao was in Taiwan last week to be officially announced as Lai’s running mate on the Democratic Progressive Party’s ticket for the Jan. 13 presidential election.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Hsiao officially tendered her resignation as representative to the US, a post she had held since July 2020, to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Monday last week.
Tsai has approved Hsiao’s resignation, which takes effect tomorrow, the Presidential Office said.
In the interim, Hsiao would be on paid leave, while Cheng serves as acting representative to the US, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said.
The Presidential Office and the ministry are still in the process of appointing Hsiao’s successor, Liu said, giving no timeline for when that person would be announced.
A free exhibition aimed at teaching the public about air-raid shelters and basic emergency personal protection skills today opened on the concourse level of the Taipei MRT's Ximen Station. The event, organized by the National Police Agency, aims to raise awareness about disaster preparedness ahead of nationwide air raid drills scheduled from July 15 to 18, which are part of broader urban resilience exercises. The exhibition outlines the recommended actions people should take depending on whether they are indoors, commuting or outdoors when air-raid sirens sound. It also teaches people how to equip air-raid shelters and pack emergency "go bags," with displays
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
RSS